Browsing by Author "Fonseka, D.L.C.K."

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Commercialization of Dracaena Sanderiana (Lucky Bamboo) as a Foliage Crop in Hambanthota District of Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2022-09-15) Anuruddi, H.I.G.K.; Fonseka, D.L.C.K.
Dracaena sanderiana is an in-demand cut foliage plant belongs to family Agavaceae. Dracaena varieties are commercially produced in export-oriented large scale plantations in Sri Lanka. The crop is mainly cultivated in the wet zone due to the favourable growth conditions which enhance the export quality characteristics of the plant. The climatic conditions in the dry zone is also favourable for its growth under appropriate conditions. But the supply of the crop still falls short of the demand. A survey was conducted to identify possibilities of introducing Dracaena as a future commercial foliage to the Hambantota district. Randomly selected 40 flower growers from selected divisional secretariat divisions (DSD) in Hambantota were interviewed administrating a pre-tested questionnaire during early 2022. Data were subjected to a percentage analysis while descriptive statistical methods were used to represent the results using Microsoft Excel. According to the survey, bulk of them (60%) continue floriculture business as a full time employment. Middle aged women work in floriculture enterprises in large numbers. The majority of responders (70%), are willing to incorporate Dracaena as a fresh floriculture produce for their nurseries. Fifty percent of them have additional land with natural shade up to 0.25 acres, which is possible to utilize for Dracaena cultivation with proper intervention. Sixty percent of them stated that they prefer to train on value addition of Dracaena plants by knitting. Fifteen percent (15%) of them possess shade net houses and other infrastructure in place. An export-oriented Dracaena producer society in Beliatta DSDs is ready to impart its knowledge and offer advice to novice producers. The need of marketing the products collectively to reduce transportation costs is understood by the respondents. The initial investments on growth structures and irrigation pose a significant challenge. A majority of growers (70%) anticipate receiving financial assistance from the government. A lack of awareness of the crop, low availability of planting materials, high transportation costs along with high prices of fertilizer and fungicides in the markets were other challenges. It is necessary to provide finance support, trading facilities, production aid, and awareness and training initiatives to introduce D. sanderiana as a lucrative crop for the Hambantota district.
Open Access
Growth Parameters and Grain Yield of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) as Affected by Biofilm Biofertilizer Application
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences - SLIIT, 2021-03-26) Ketipearachchi, K.G.; Seneviratne, G.; Fonseka, D.L.C.K.
Overuse of synthetic fertilizer causes a number of detrimental impacts on both human and environmental health. Hence, beneficial microbial biofilm-based Biofilm biofertilizers (BFBFs) have been developed to make agro ecosystems more eco- friendly. Accordingly, it has been revealed that the BFBFs can reduce current application of chemical fertilizers (CF) in rice even up to 50% without hampering grain yield in field experiments in research stations. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate growth parameters and grain yield of rice after application of BFBF in farmers’ fields. The experiment was designed in block design for paired comparison with uniform, consecutive paddy fields in 12 farmer fields in the Polonnaruwa district. The farmers’ CF practice (N: P: K; 155:20:20) and BFBF practice (1 L BFBF with N: P: K; 59:15:16) were applied as treatments with 12 location replicates per treatment in the Yala 2018 season. Means of shoot and root dry weights per plant, thousand grain weight and yield of the two practices were evaluated. T-test was used for mean comparison. Results indicated that there is a significant increase (P < 0.05) in shoot (53%) and root (89%) dry weights per plant and thousand grain weight (18%) in BFBF practice compared to the farmers’ CF practice. Further, the average grain yield of the BFBF practice was 5,112 kg/ha whereas that of farmers’ CF practice was 4,238 kg/ha, a 21% increment in the grain yield. Hence, it can be concluded that the BFBF can enhance plant growth and grain yield while reducing farmers’ use of CF in paddy fields.
Open Access
Impact of Spacing and Type of Planting Material on Dry Matter Percentage in Cinnamon Bark: At the Stage of First Harvest
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences - SLIIT, 2021-03-26) Aluthgamege, H.N.; Fonseka, D.L.C.K.; Benaragama, C.K.; Kumarasinghe, H.K.M.S.
Cinnamomum verum J. Presl (cinnamon), is an evergreen aromatic plant with several uses and considered as a prominent spice throughout the world. Most familiar product of cinnamon is quills, produced by peeling and rolling the bark pieces in to a pipe like structure. Dry mater content in cinnamon bark is a determinant factor of income since weight of quills mainly depends on it. If the dry matter content in cinnamon bark can be increased, returns from cinnamon exports can be increased as well. Therefore, this study was aimed at identifying the effect of spacing and type of planting material on dry matter percentage in cinnamon bark at the stage of first harvest. Seedlings and vegetatively propagated plants of cinnamon variety Sri Gemunu were planted under three different spacings as 1.2×0.6 m with three plants per hill, 1.2×0.4 m with two plants per hill and 1.2×0.2 m with one plant per hill as two factor factorial RCBD at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. First harvest was collected after two years from establishment and quills were produced with support of skilled cinnamon peelers. Weight of quills per plant was measured after air drying for three days and dry matter percentage in bark was determined by oven drying samples to a constant weight. The results revealed that the mean dry matter percentage in bark of cinnamon seedlings (37.84%) was significantly higher (P<0.05) than the mean dry matter percentage in bark of vegetatively propagated plants (31.69%). The mean quill weight per cinnamon seedling (45.93 g) was significantly higher (P<0.05) than the mean quill weight per vegetatively propagated plant (28.40 g). Interaction effect between spatial pattern and planting material was not significant for both bark dry matter percentage and weight of quills per plant. A moderate correlation between cinnamon bark dry matter percentage and quill weight was observed at the stage of first harvest (r = 0.429, p = 0.036) according to the Pearson’s correlation test. Findings of the current study can be used for further studies.
Embargo
In Vitro Root Induction and Acclimatization of Cissampelos pareira: An Important Medicinal Plant
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences - SLIIT, 2021-03-26) De Silva, D.C.M; Fonseka, D.L.C.K.
Cissampelos pareira, known in Sinhala as Diyamiththa, is a climbing herb with numerous medicinal properties and belongs to the family Menispermaceae. The plant has a number of phytochemicals which have the potential to produce drugs for various diseases. An in vitro establishment and multiplication method were developed previously for this important medicinal herb in order to extract phytochemicals. Establishment of field plantations is another option to harvest large quantities of this plant. Therefore, the current study was aimed at developing a suitable in vitro root induction and acclimatization method for in vitro generated shoot tips of this plant. For root induction, micro-shoots were transferred to half strength MS medium with various combinations and concentrations of Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) (0.5and 1.0 mg/L) and Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (0.5, 1.0and 1.5 mg/L). The study was carried out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 20 replicates. The highest percentage of root formation, the highest number of roots and the highest length of roots were recorded in half strength MS medium with 0.5 mgL-1 IAA and 1.0 mgL-1 IBA. Above values were significantly higher than all other treatments (p S 0.05). Five different potting media were tested for acclimatization and a significantly high rate of survival was recorded from plantlets established in coco pellets (95%) (p S 0.05). The findings of this study can be used for commercial cultivation and further studies of Cissampelos pareira.
Open Access
The Use of Plant Tissue Culture Techniques for Producing Virus Free Manihot esculenta Var. MU51 Plants
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2024-12-04) Madushani, W.G.I; Jayasinghe, K.G.J.U.; Aluthgamage, H.N.; Fonseka, D.L.C.K.
Even though Manihot esculenta (Cassava) has been identi fi ed worldwide as a key starchy crop, it contains a rich number of phytochemicals that can be used for various purposes. However, conventi onal propagati on methods have led to an increase in viral diseases, creati ng a problemati c conditi on when using this species for the pharmaceuti cal industry. There is a lack of reliable protocols for the micropropagati on of cassava (Var. MU51) for mass producti on in industrial use. Therefore, this work aimed to develop a reliable method for the mass producti on of healthy, virus-free Manihot esculenta (Var. MU51) for industrial applicati ons. The focus was on creati ng a micropropagati on protocol for the variety MU51, involving opti mal surface sterilizati on and eff ecti ve hormonal combinati on for shoot proliferati on and ideal media for meristem culture. According to the study, a 10% Clorox soluti on, coupled with an exposure durati on of 15 minutes, manifested the most noteworthy success rate (78 %) in preventi ng contaminati on (P < 0.05). In the context of the proliferati on of shoots from M. esculenta nodes, the applicati on of 0.5 mg/l BAP + 0.1 mg/l NAA as well as 1mg/l BAP + 0.1mg/l NAA following 5 weeks, the nodal segments that underwent shoot proliferati on exhibited comparable growth in both treatments without signifi cant diff erence (P > 0.05). The initi ati on of meristem growth was carried out uti lizing a solid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium forti fi ed with a blend of 0.1 mg/l BAP, 0.25 mg/l GA3, and 0.2 mg/l NAA, in additi on to a standard MS medium. The hormonal MS medium demonstrated a signifi cantly superior survival rate (87%) (P < 0.05). The current investi gati on underscores the opti mal conditi ons for miti gati ng contaminati on risks and promoti ng desirable outcomes in M. esculenta shoot proliferati on and meristem growth, thereby contributi ng valuable insights to the fi eld.